Touched by Darkness
by Thalia Grace DaughterofZeus13
Summary: The Dememtor's Kiss. A fate worse than death, and no one has ever recovered. No one, that is, except Stella Stillwater. Stella was given the Dementor's Kiss, and twelve hours later, was found recovered. But a darkness like that always leaves it's traces..
1. Chapter 1

**I had this idea while watching **_**Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban**_** the other night. Hope you enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter**

**Evening, 16 years after the war, Godric's Hallow **

A ten year old girl was running barefoot down the street. She had a bag slung around her shoulder. She kept looking behind, as though worried she was being followed. She was wearing a tattered brown dress, and had long messy blond hair. She turned the corner and stopped to catch her breath.

She shivered suddenly. Even though it was July, she could see her breath. The window of the house she was standing by began to freeze over. Horror dawning on her, she slowly looked up, and screamed.

Dementors were swooping down on her, at least a dozen of them, if not more. She turned around and tried to run away, but they were coming from all directions. All she could do was scream.

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

Inside the house the girl was by, three children were playing on the floor. The older two were boys, one about 10 and the other 8. The youngest was a girl, who was 6 years old. The oldest boy was making fun of the younger two.

"Stop that!" the girl yelled. "Mum! Dad!"

"Aw, come on Lily-"the boy began.

"What's going on?" Ginny Potter walked into the room, followed by Harry Potter.

"James isn't being nice." Lily pouted.

"It's true." The other boy, Albus, told James, who looked indignant.

"James," Harry sighed, "I've told you a hundred times, you've got to be nice to-"

"Harry." Ginny interrupted. She was staring at the window. "There's ice on the window." She walked closer and looked out. Then she screamed. "Harry! There are dementors out there! And there's a little girl…oh Harry, I think they're trying to give her the Dementors Kiss!"

Harry looked and nodded. "Contact the Aurors office. I'll be back." He ran outside.

The girl was surrounded by now. The girl was screaming her head off. "No, please, I haven't done anything, please!"

Harry raised his wand, but he could see it was no use, he was too late. One of the dementors swooped over the girl, and it…

Harry looked away. He couldn't watch. He raised his wand again. "Expecto Patronum."

The dementors left, and Harry ran forward to the girl. She lay limply on the ground, not dead, but not alive. Harry knew: her soul was gone.

"Harry!" Ginny ran out of the house. Moments later, there were two loud cracks and Ron and Hermione appeared and ran over to them.

"What happened?" Ron asked. "Is she-?"

"They kissed her. We're too late. She was an innocent girl, can't be older than James." Harry responded.

"We should bring her inside." Ginny said. "I sent the kids upstairs, they won't see her."

"Good idea." Harry picked her up and carried her inside, the others following. He brought her to the bedroom that he and Ginny shared, and laid her on the bed.

"Who is she?" Hermione asked. "Have you seen her around here before?"

Harry shook his head. "I've never seen her before in my life. "

Ginny took a closer look at her. "This bag she's carrying has a name on it." She said. "Stella Stillwater."

"There's a couple called Stillwater on the street around the corner," Harry said, "But I didn't think they had any children. I've never seen any."

"Still, we should talk to them." Ginny said, and the others nodded.

"What are we going to do with her?" Ron asked, looking at the girl.

"There's really no hope for her." Hermione said sadly. "Poor girl. If you ask me, we should just…put her out of her misery."

"You mean…end it?" Harry said. Hermione nodded.

"It's probably the best for her." Ginny said. "But we should wait, at least until tomorrow. We should try to find her family first, see what they think."

"I agree." Harry said. "I'm also going to talk the Kingsley, and maybe the minister, about the dementors. That was totally out of line, what they did. This girl was an innocent."

Ron nodded. "Hermione and I can come back tomorrow."

"Mum, Dad? What's going on?" they a whirled around and found James standing in the doorway. Ron and Hermione both stepped in front of the bed, trying to keep him from seeing the girl. Harry and Ginny both stepped forward to James. But none of them were quick enough.

"What's wrong with her?" James whispered, horrified. He turned to Harry. "The dementors, did they-?"

Harry sighed. There was no point in lying. "Yeah, they did."

"Oh my god." James said.

"James, you should go, keep your brother and sister away from here." Ginny said.

"Yeah…yeah, I'll do that." He was serious for once.

"We've got a spare guest room downstairs; we can keep her there for the night." Harry said.

**000000ooooooo000000**

**Midnight**

Everyone was asleep. The girl who had been kissed was lying on the bed in the guestroom of the Potters. Unknown to everyone, her entire body began to glow. Her blond hair turned black, and she shifted in the bed. The glow disappeared as quickly as it had arrived.

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

**The next morning**

Ron and Hermione came back. Ginny had gone to talk to the Stillwater family, and had discovered it was true: this girl, Stella, was their daughter, their only daughter. They would be coming later, to see her and decide her fate.

James, Albus, and Lily were eating breakfast in the kitchen. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny went to check on Stella. Ron opened the door a looked inside. Suddenly he turned to the others. "People without souls…they can't walk around or mumble to themselves, right?"

"Yeah." Hermione said, giving him a weird look.

"Then there's something weird going on." He said, and opened the door and turned on the light.

"What's going on?" a voice said from inside. They all ran inside, and their jaws dropped.

Stella, who had been completely without a soul the night before, was standing up and looking at them. "What do you want with me? What happened?" she asked.

"Didn't she have blond hair last night?" Hermione said.

"Yeah, she did." Harry said. "But now it's black."

Ginny stepped forward. "Stella? Are you Stella Stillwater?"

She looked at Ginny. "I'm Stella."

"This isn't possible." Harry said. "She had the Dementors Kiss. Nobody has ever recovered from that."

"Yeah." Ron said. "She's like you, Harry. Nobody had ever survived the killing curse before."

"Maybe she's an imposter?" Hermione suggested, still staring at Stella.

"We can find out." Harry said. "Come with me, Stella."

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

An hour later, they had done everything they knew to find out if she was an imposter. Everything came up with the same conclusion: It was Stella Stillwater.

And she did look the same, other than the hair color. She had the same blue eyes, she was the same height, everything. It was just unexplainable, how she had recovered. She remembered who she was, where she lived, her age, but she didn't remember what happened the night before. She said she could remember stopping by their house, but after that, nothing.

Right now she was sitting in the kitchen, eating something. Her parents would be there any minute.

Ginny walked in. "How do you feel?"

Stella looked at her. "Fine."

"That's good." They were quiet for a moment, and then Ginny said, "You're 10 years old, right?"

"Yes."

"My son James is the same age as you. Speaking of which," she added as James ran into the room.

"Mum, Dad's looking for you."

"Ok. James, this is Stella." Ginny said. "Stella, this is my son James."

"Hi." James said.

"Hello." Stella mumbled.

"I'll be right back." Ginny told Stella, and left the room. James came and sat next to Stella.

"Are you ok?" he asked her.

"I guess." Stella said. "It's just…I don't know. It's hard to explain. I was attacked by dementors, I lost my soul, and now I'm here. It's very…odd."

"I kinda see what you mean." James said. He sat quietly with her for a minute. Then he blurted out "I think you look prettier with black hair."

She burst out laughing. James laughed too. "I just mean it suits you better."

Just then Stella's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Stillwater, rushed in. "Stella!" Mrs. Stillwater cried. She threw her arms around Stella.

All of the happiness and laughter that Stella had shown a moment ago was gone from her face. "Hi mum."

"Don't you ever run off like that again." Mrs. Stillwater said, looking Stella in the eyes.

"Sorry." She mumbled.

Mr. Stillwater turned to Harry. "Thank you, Mr. Potter, for saving my daughter."

"I honestly didn't do much. I can't explain how she recovered."

"Nevertheless, thank you."

"Come on, Stella, we should go home." Mrs. Stillwater said.

Stella nodded and turned to James. "Thanks for trying to cheer me up."

"No problem. I do that kind of stuff all the time." James said, grinning at her. She smiled weakly back.

"Maybe I can come visit sometime?" she said, glancing at Harry and Ginny.

"You're welcome anytime, Stella." Ginny said. Harry nodded.

"Come on Stella." Mr. Stillwater called. Stella waved and followed her parents.

Once the Potter's was out of sight, Mrs. Still water turned to Stella. "What were you thinking, running off like that? Look what happened!"

"I'm sorry, I-"

"Save it." She slapped Stella across the face. Stella flinched.

"That's why I ran away. You're always doing that."

"Oh, you'll get worse than that, girl. Bring Harry Potter, no less, into this-"Mr. Stillwater began.

"Oh, yeah, dad, I was attacked in front of Harry Potter's house on purpose." Stella said sarcastically.

"Don't talk back to me."

"Can I ever go back to see them? They said I could."

"You can, because otherwise they might get suspicious. But I warn you, if any of them ever seem to suspect anything, if you tell them anything of what goes on in our house," he raised his hand, and Stella covered her face. "You'll be sorry."

"Yes, sir." Stella said, shaking.

"Now let's go home." Mrs. Stillwater grabbed Stella's wrist and pulled her along down the street.

**How was that? If you guys think it's good, I'll continue. Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Warning: some blood and violence in this chapter. It's very dark, actually. You've been warned. And it's not a joke.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter**

**1 month later**

Stella knocked on the Potter's front door. Ginny answered. "Hello, Stella. Come in, please." She opened the door further and let Stella inside.

"Thanks, Mrs. Potter."

"I keep telling you, dear, call me Ginny."

Stella nodded and smiled politely.

It had been a month since Stella's attack. She still had a soul, no Dementors had been seen since, and Stella seemed to be perfectly healthy. As a matter of fact, she had become very close friends with James, and came to the Potter's often.

"Is James here?" Stella asked Ginny.

"Yes, he's in his room." Ginny replied.

"Thanks." Stella turned to head up the stairs to James's room.

"Oh, Stella!" Ginny called after her. Stella looked at her. "Will you be staying for dinner?"

"Um…" Stella shifted her weight uncomfortably. "If it's not a bother or anything, I would love to. But I understand if you would rather just eat with your family-"

"Nonsense, we would love to have you."

A smile played across Stella's lips. "Thank you." She started up the stairs again.

She knocked on James's door. "James? It's me, can I come in?"

The door opened, and James stood there, grinning at her. "Stella! Just the girl I wanted to see, come in."

She gave him a suspicious look. "What?" she asked as she walked inside.

"No pranks this time, I swear!" James said, putting his hands in the air. "I wanted to talk to you."

"Oh?" Stella said, sitting on the bed. "And what are you talking about, then?"

"Well, I was just looking at a calendar and discovered that tomorrow is August 19. And what happens on August 19?"

Stella blushed and mumbled something completely impossible to understand.

"That's right," James said, acting as though he had understood "It's exactly a month after you recovered from the Dementors Kiss, a supposedly impossible thing to do." He sat down with her. "I say we celebrate."

"Oh, please don't." Stella said.

"No, it's a big deal." James insisted. "We have to do something."

Stella sighed. "Fine. What exactly did you have in mind?"

"Well, I thought maybe my family could go to your place-"

"No." Stella said, standing up. Her eyes were big. "No. You can't ever come to my house, do you hear me, James Potter, I said never!" she was practically shrieking by the end of her sentence.

"Ok." James stood up too. He put his hand on her shoulder, looking worried. "I'm sorry. We can have a nice dinner here, instead. How does that sound?"

She tried to smile, but couldn't quite pull it off. "That sounds nice."

"Maybe your parents could come." James suggested.

Stella shook her head. "No, they'll be busy. They're always busy. But I'll be here." She sighed shakily. "Can we talk about something else?"

**0000000ooooooo00000000**

"The food was delicious, Ginny." Stella said. It was after dinner that same evening. "Do you want some help cleaning up?"

"No, that's ok, you go play with James." Ginny said, smiling.

"Come on, Stella." James said impatiently, pulling her out of the room. They sat down in the living room.

"So," James began "About this celebration dinner tomorrow, what do you want to have? I was thinking…" he started talking all about the next day, until Harry came in. "Hi dad." James said. "Stella and I were just talking about tomorrow."

Harry looked at them, and grinned. "Um, James?" he said, trying not to laugh. "Have you looked at Stella?"

James looked. She had fallen asleep, her head resting on a pillow. James looked embarrassed. "Oh."

"Let her sleep." Harry said. "You should get to bed too. I'll contact Stella's parents and tell them she can stay here tonight."

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

**Midnight**

_ Stella was sitting in darkness. It was pitch black, she couldn't see a thing. She called out, and her voice echoed, but there was no answer. _

_ She was cold. She shivered. Suddenly a light appeared in front of her. She stood up and ran for it. She reached it, but she still couldn't see beyond a few feet. She looked down at her clothes. They were all black._

_ Something moved. She jumped. "Hello?" she called, her voice echoing again._

_ "Stella Stillwater…" a voice whispered. The voice made her shiver again. "Stella…" it said again._

_ Something moved again, and suddenly chains appeared around her wrists and ankles. She couldn't leave. Then she moving thing came into view. It was a dementor. _

_ "No…" Stella whispered "No…"_

_ "Stella…" she voice said again "My friends and I have been waiting for you, child. You have something I want."_

_ Suddenly pain exploded in her stomach. Something wet was on her fingers. She slumped to the ground. There was blood gushing from her stomach, though a second ago she'd been fine. She tasted blood in her mouth, and it trickled down her chin. Then hundreds of dementors appeared, and swooped in on her. She couldn't even scream…blinding pain throughout her body…something clawed at her wound…and then nothing…_

Stella jumped awake, screaming. Her hand flew to her stomach, but there was no blood. She screamed anyway.

James came running down the stairs. "Stella? What's wrong?"

"Help me, help me!" Stella shrieked, running her hands through her hair.

"Stella, you're ok." James ran to her side and wrapped his arms around her.

"What happened?" Harry and Ginny ran into the room.

"I think she was dreaming." James said, still hugging Stella, who sobbed into his shoulder.

"Help me, James." She whispered. "Don't let them kill me."

"I won't. You're ok, Stella. You're safe here. I won't let anything get you, I promise." James whispered soothingly.

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

**The next morning**

Stella ran inside her house. She tip-toed to the stairs. If she could just get to her room without being heard-

"Stella!" she winced as she heard her name.

"Coming Mum." She called, and went to the kitchen.

"Where have you been?" her mother yelled when she walked in.

"I'm sorry, mum, I was at the Potters." Stella said.

"Yes. All night. I received a message from Harry Potter. You stupid little brat, I warned you about them having contact with us-"

"I'm sorry, mum, but I fell asleep and-"

"I don't want to hear your excuses." He mother smacked her across the face, hard. Stella cried out. "Your fathers downstairs, working. I believe you're perfect for our newest experiment, as your punishment. Come with me." She grabbed Stella by the arm and pulled her violently down to the basement. Her father was down there. The room was full of magical items, all either created or stolen, and all for dark magic.

"Your father and I have created a new potion." Her mother said. "It causes pain, worse than any spell can create." She handed a glass to Stella. "Drink it."

"What?" Stella screamed. "No, please, I'm sorry, I'll never do it again, I swear, just don't make me drink it!"

"Drink it!" her mother screamed. "Drink it, you piece of worthless garbage, or I'll use the one that kills."

Stella was shaking like crazy, but she took the glass and drank. Within seconds, she dropped the glass. It shattered on the floor. Stella screamed and fell to her knees. "Make it stop, make it stop, I'm begging you!"

"Why Stella, we have to see how long the effect lasts." Her father said, smiling.

"Please!" Stella screamed at the top of her lungs. "Help me! Help me!" she crouched over in the fetal position, screaming. Her vision went fuzzy. "I can't see!" she shouted. "Please, make it go away!"

She tried to stand but couldn't. The pain intensified, and she fell to the ground in faint.

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

Stella opened her eyes. She was lying on the basement floor. Her parents were gone. Her head was throbbing, but the pain was mostly gone. She slowly stood up, her head only spinning a little, and went upstairs.

Her parents were nowhere to be found, but there was a note on the kitchen table.

_ We went out. You're on your own for food._

Stella crumpled up the note and threw it at the wall. She went outside. The sun was beginning to set. She'd been unconscious all day.

She was supposed to have dinner at the Potters, but she didn't feel like going. She walked down the street. She went right past the Potters house, and went to the graveyard at the church. She walked past the graves of Lily and James Potter, and stopped at one that _Evan Stillwater_.

Her little brother. He'd been three when he had died. They said it was an accident, but Stella knew the truth. Her parents had murdered him. And they hadn't cared. She fell to her knees and cried.

"Stella?" someone came up behind her and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Are you ok?" It was James.

"Do I look ok?" Stella replied fiercely. She turned to him, wiping her eyes. "How could I possibly be ok?"

"Sorry." James said, looking startled. "We were waiting for you, and then I saw you pass by my house, so I followed you. I thought you were coming over-"

"Well maybe I don't feel like spending time with you." Stella spat. "Maybe something more important came up."

"Did something happen?" James asked, concerned.

"DOES SOMETHING ALWAYS HAVE TO HAPPEN?" Stella shouted. "I JUST DON'T FEEL LIKE BEING WITH YOU, OK? I DON'T FEEL THE NEED TO BE AROUND ALL YOU HAPPY PEOPLE!"

James gave her a long look. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize it made you upset. You're not happy?"

Stella glared at him, and then punched him. He stumbled back; she was stronger than she looked. "How could I be happy?" she said. "How could you expect me to be happy? I have the most vivid, horrible nightmares you can possibly imagine, and I'm considered a freak, even by you. Don't deny it; it's what you're thinking. I'm the freak girl, who was kissed by a dementor and still has a soul. I'm not happy. I'm a mess. Sometimes," tears streamed down her cheeks as she said "I feel like killing myself."

James looked at her. "Stella, I could never think you're a freak. You're my best friend. I'm sorry about what happened, Stella. But you can't die. Don't kill yourself, Stella, I'll go crazy if you do. I need you. It's going to get better. I promise." He was close to tears too. "Just take another chance. Please? For me? I realize I could never understand what you're going through, but I can try. You can talk to me. Stella, I can't let you die."

Stella looked at him, and then ran into his arms. "I'm sorry." She sobbed. "I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for."James whispered. "Do you want dinner now?"

"Can we maybe skip the big dinner downstairs and just eat up in your room, just you and me?" Stella asked, pulling away and wiping her eyes.

James smiled at her. "Sure." He held out his hand. She took it, and they walked out of the graveyard.

**Wow, that was depressing. I think that's the darkest thing I've ever written. Please review.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

**Six months later**

The brisk February wind blew through Stella's bedroom window. She was lying on the bed with her eyes closed. Then a large owl flew through the window. She opened her eyes and stood up.

It was her owl, and there was a note tied to her leg. She untied it. "Thanks Thalia."

It was from James. She smiled to herself as she read it.

_ Stella,_

_ Meet me in my bedroom at midnight. I need your help setting something up. You know the way into my room._

_ James_

Stella laughed. With James, there was a 99.9% chance when he said "something" he meant "prank". She did know how to get into his room. There was a magic ladder from his window. You just said the password (werewolf), and it dropped down. Midnight…that was in a little less than an hour.

She found a quill and wrote back:

_I'll be there._

_ Stella_

The owl, Thalia, flew off. Stella sighed and sat back down on her bed. She didn't have to meet James for a few hours…but no reason she couldn't get out of her prison right now. She pressed her ear up to the door to make sure no one was coming. No one was. She tip toed to the window.

There was a large tree right outside Stella's bedroom window. With much practice (which had included falling down several times), she had figured out how to climb from the window onto a branch and down the tree. She also knew how to climb up the tree and get back in through the window.

She climbed down from the tree and ran out of the yard. She wandered, and found herself back at the graveyard, like she always did. She sat at her brother's grave.

"It's your birthday in a month." She said. "You'll be seven years old. I'll bring you something." She sighed. "I'm going to start at Hogwarts in September. I'm really excited. I'll be away from mum and dad. I'll still visit you during the break, though, don't worry. I wish you were here." She let a tear fall as the memories came back.

_ Evan was playing on the floor with six-year-old Stella. Their mother came up to them._

_ "Come with me, Evan, your father and I have to show you something."_

_ "Oh, mum, five more minutes?" Stella begged. "We're playing."_

_ "No." her mother said sharply. "Come on Evan."_

_ Evan grabbed Stella's hand. "No!"_

_ "Come, Evan!" their mother shouted._

_ Stella began, "Mum-"_

_ "Shut up, Stella!" her mother cried, and slapped her. Stella stepped back, surprised. Evan started to wail. Their mother picked him up and carried him downstairs._

_ "Mum, leave him alone!" Stella screamed. She ran after them, but the door to the basement was shut and locked. "Let me in!" she cried. "Leave him alone! Don't hurt him! Let me in!"_

_ The door opened. It was her father. "Go to your room, Stella. This doesn't concern you."_

_ "Don't hurt him!" she hit her father. "Give him back!"_

_ "That's it." Her father picked her up and carried her up the stairs. Stella screamed and kicked, but it was no use. He locked her in her room._

_ About ten minutes later, she heard a scream from downstairs. "Evan!" she yelled. She hit the door a screamed until she went hoarse. She fell onto her bed, tears streaming down her face, and eventually fell asleep._

_ She woke up when she heard a loud noise from downstairs. The door was open now. She jumped up and ran downstairs._

_ The house was full of people. They looked like ministry workers. "Terrible shame." One man was saying. "He was so young…"_

_ Stella wandered to the front door, looking for her family. The she saw him. _

_ A wizard was suspending something in the air, heading outside. And that something was her brother. Or rather, her brother's dead body._

_ Terror and horror jolted through her. She screamed. "Evan!"_

_ Her parents came up behind her. "She's awfully upset." Her mother was saying. "They were very close."_

_ "Of course." One of the ministry wizards said._

_ "You killed him!" Stella shrieked at her parents. "You killed him!"_

_ "She doesn't know what she's saying." Her father said. "She's distraught."_

_ "You killed him!" Stella screamed again. "You murdered my brother!"_

_ She had eventually been dragged off the her room, but she had kept screaming it. "You killed him! You killed him!"_

"You killed him." she whispered to herself. A tear rolled down her cheek. "They killed him."

She wiped her eyes. She should meet James soon.

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

Stella climbed through James's window. He was waiting for you. "Thanks for coming." He said. He looked at her, and frowned. "Are you ok? You look like you've been crying."

"I'm fine." She said, smiling. "So what are we going to do?"

"We're going to dump these on my brothers bed." He pulled out a jar. Inside were…

"Bugs." Stella said. "Why bugs?"

"Al doesn't like bugs." James said. "He'll freak out."

"Why do you need my help for this?"

"Because," James sighed. "Al has started having Dad magically lock his bedroom door at night. You know, because of all the other things I've done to him in his sleep."

"You mean like the raining potatoes, putting banana cream pies in her bed, feeding him various potions, switching his furniture around, and making his ceiling cave in?" Stella said, counting on her fingers.

James nodded. "So we're going to go through the window."

Stella grinned. "Are we really? This'll be fun."

"Right, now you're smaller." James said. "So you get on my shoulders. Hold on to the jar. I'll get us to his window."

Stella nodded. James climbed out his window. There was a ledge that wrapped around the house, just barely big enough to stand on. She climbed after him, and got on his shoulders. He started inching his way across the wall.

"Is this safe?" Stella asked.

"Nope."

"I though not. Ok, then."

They reached Al's window. Stella opened it carefully, and opened the jar. She carefully dumped them onto Al's pillow. "Mission accomplished." She whispered to James. He nodded.

"Now we'll go back." He tried to go back the other way, but he lost his balance, and they both went tumbling backward. Stella cried out as they fell towards the ground.

She fell on top of James. "Ouch." He groaned.

"Sorry." She said. They looked at each other. Then they both burst out laughing.

"We fell." Stella said simply through her laughter.

"Yeah we did." James laughed. "We should be quiet, we'll wake Al-"

Suddenly there was a shout from the open window. "Bugs! There are bugs in my bed! MUM!"

Stella shrieked with laughter. James laughed too.

"JAMES SIRIUS POTTER!" a voice shouted from inside, and both James and Stella fell back laughing.

"I should get inside so I can be yelled at." James said. "You should go home so they don't know you were involved. I don't want to get you in trouble."

"Thanks." She said. "See you tomorrow?"

"Possibly, unless I get grounded."

"That never stopped you from meeting me before…"

"Good point. Definitely, then. See you." James smiled at her.

She smiled back. "Mischief managed." She said. They said that all the time.

She turned and left. She ran all the way back to her house, climbed up the tree, and jumped onto her bed.

Her life had definitely become better since she'd met James. Soon they'd head off to Hogwarts together, and she'd be away from the life she hated. Until then, she'd survive. She always had.

Maybe she could do this.

**Kind of sad, but uplifting at the end. Sorry it wasn't very eventful, but in the next chapter they head to Hogwarts, and things get interesting. Please review!**


End file.
